Joe Rohde addressed the "skepticism" of basing a land on Avatar (as well as the Guardians ToT redo).
Click here to see or read below, I've copied the text:
Today, on each coast, two projects opened to overwhelming crowds and very high praise. Both of these were the results of incredible teamwork by talented and devoted individuals, some of whom worked both projects!! I had the privilege of overseeing these, but make no mistake, the work was done by two extremely talented groups of master storytellers. It interests me that both projects were announced to considerable skepticism. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and skepticism is a crucial component of good creative work. But there is something I wanted to comment on. Much of this skepticism was directed at the idea that "nobody cared" about these subjects. This is a false lead. Subject is nothing to holler about. Treatment is how stories work. Do you want to hear a story about two girls in a boat, a spaceship, a lost dog, or a man struggling with his identity? How could anyone possibly know? What makes story great is how it is told, not what it is about. If humans only told stories about subjects that people were familiar with and never changed the subject, every story on earth would be about a successful mammoth hunt. We, who are storytellers, take our charge seriously. We open the dream-channels of human minds, so that people have the power to believe in something more than what they believed yesterday, more than they see with their eyes. And hopefully, they transfer that open belief in the yet-unseen to other enterprises, to science, medicine, architecture, and politics. We always need new stories, about what? No one can say. But if they are well told, moving, and inspiring, they will work like seeds in a garden to help us all grow.